Authors :
First Author: Peter Corcoran, MPH – American Academy of Pediatrics Headquarters
Presenting Author: Nkemdilim Chineme, MPH – American Academy of Pediatrics
Laura Murray, MPH – Manager, National Coordinating Center for Epilepsy, American Academy of Pediatrics; Nkemdilim Chineme, MPH – Senior Manager, Children & Youth with Chronic Conditions, American Academy of Pediatrics; Christina Boothby, MPA – Senior Director, Children & Youth with Special Health Care Needs, American Academy of Pediatrics; Thometta Cozart, MS, MPH, MCHES, CPH – Multicultural Outreach and Health Equity Director, Public Health & Education Unit, Epilepsy Foundation
Rationale:
The Strengthen and Enhance Epilepsy Knowledge (SEEK) Training for Medical Residents educational trainings were created by the National Coordinating Center for Epilepsy (Center), a cooperative agreement between the Health Resources and Services Administration Maternal and Child Health Bureau and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). The goal of the SEEK Training for Medical Residents is to build knowledge and capacity of medical residents, other clinician groups and public health professionals in the role they play in providing care for children and youth with epilepsy (CYE). The Center engaged subject matter experts to develop content for a series of four pre-recorded trainings with accompanying case studies. Each training includes a short didactic presentation and a case study guide that can be adapted and used to educate medical residents, medical students, public health professionals, and others to encourage dialogue about the various epilepsy related topics presented.
Methods:
The Center conducts a retrospective survey on participants’ knowledge, skills, and abilities to measure how well the modules were at accomplishing the learning objectives. The data is collected anonymously by the Center using SurveyMonkey, an online data-gathering program. The statistical analysis was done on IBM SPSS version 25. Results:
Respondents reported gains in key areas of knowledge and confidence in epilepsy care. Additionally, respondents overwhelmingly reported that they had a positive experience with the Center's SEEK trainings and that their understanding of epilepsy has improved as a result of having participated in the SEEK trainings. Conclusions:
The virtual trainings demonstrated that epilepsy‐specific content can support increases in medical residents' and students’ knowledge and confidence which may lead to improved care for CYE. Additional work remains to be done to improve care for CYE and better coordinate care with specialty care providers. The SEEK training can be an important resource to help build the capacity of medical residents, students, and other stakeholders who care for CYE in a variety of care settings. Funding: This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number U23MC26252, Awareness and
Access to Care for Children and Youth with Epilepsy as part of an award totaling $2,637,796 with 0%
funded by nongovernmental source(s). The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily
represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government.